New 3D Metal Printer Is Open Source and Affordable

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Anyone with access to a welder and the Internet soon could make
his or her own replacement parts or tools with a new 3D metal
printer that can be built in any garage.

Until recently, most of the 3D printing
hype has swirled around plastic 3D printers, which have been used
to make everything from
clothing to
art. And while 3D metal printers do exist, their price tag
starts at a half million dollars.

Now, scientists have built an open-source 3D metal printer that
costs under $1,200, sharing their design and software with the
maker community.

"We have open-sourced the plans," in the hopes of accelerating
the technology by allowing others to build upon the design, said
project leader Joshua Pearce, a materials engineer at Michigan
Technological University in Houghton. [ The
10 Weirdest Things Created By 3D Printing ]

The snazzy device is modeled after a RepRap (short for
"replicating rapid prototype"), a 3D printer that can print most
of its own components. The printer uses a metal inert gas (MIG)
welder to lay down thin layers of steel, much like plastic
printers do, and build complex geometric objects. All of the
parts needed to build the metal printer are things one could buy
or print using a plastic 3D printer, Pearce told LiveScience.

Pearce envisions the printer being used to make replacement parts
for things such as bicycles or to print scientific tools, which
could radically reduce the cost of lab equipment, he said.

"I hope to see a large number of small companies starting up to
make specialty parts," he said.

Of course, there's always the chance that someone will use the
technology to
make guns or other weapons. The standard design files are
already out there, and Pearce said he's sure someone will make
weapons from them.

"Every single technology humanity has ever developed, we have
found a way to abuse," he said,

But Pearce said the technology has greater potential to be used
for good. In the developing world, for example, the printer could
be used to make water pumps or windmill components.

The printer takes about a day to build, and it is inexpensive and
simple enough to be built in a garage by someone without much
welding experience. But the technology is better suited for use
by a small shop business or maker space, because of the safety
gear required to operate a welder.

Higher-end metal printers are still much more precise than the
one made by Pearce's team. "We are definitely not there yet,"
Pearce said, but he added that the resolution and speed will only
improve with the involvement of the maker community.

The new printer design was detailed Nov. 25 in the journal IEEE
Access.